Fate is sealed for two more buildings

Monday

Aug 12, 2013 at 4:29 PM

Warrants obtained for settling apartment building 424 Adams, burned home on Montview

The death warrants have been signed and the end is near for two of Taft's most notorious structures – a twice-burned shell of a home on Montview Avenue in South Taft and the infamous apartment building in “The Village” at the other end of town.

Power has finally be cut for the home at 406 Montview and the warrant for its demolition has been signed.

Demolition is scheduled to begin on Aug. 21 – a week from Wednesday.

After that, its a vacant apartment building in what was once called Victory Square.

The apartment was one of the first targets of Supervisor David Couch after he took office in January was a settling apartment building.

Nicknamed “The Sinking Ship,” the two-story apartment building at 424 Adams Street was declared unsafe this year and its occupants moved out.

It has settled badly over the years, tipping to the south east.

Kern County Director of Engineering Chuck Lackey called it “wracked, warped, buckled or settled and is unsafe...” in a letter to the Kern County Board of Supervisors, who approved the demolition in March.

But that demolition has been delayed several times by a variety of issues.Now it looks as if the last hurdle has been cleared.

“Today, Supervisor David Couch is pleased to announce the asbestos testing at 424 Adams Street in Ford City has finally been completed!” wrote Couch aide Mark Salvaggio in an email sent out Monday afternoon. “A warrant for the demolition has been secured. Gilliam & Sons will demolish 424 Adams sometime after 406 Montview is completed.”

The Montview home burned twice earlier this year, part of a series of fires that have hit vacant residences in South Taft since February.